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“We aim to prepare students for a world yet to be imagined; to manage markets that are yet to emerge; and to lead with conviction in situations that cannot be predicted,” says the dean of the upcoming Myra School of Business, Prof Rajiv K Sinha

There are over 4,500 business schools in India and, so, the news of yet another one opening in Mysore didn’t excite me much. In fact, have a look at any education magazine and you will see numerous advertisements from unknown business schools, some of which even claim to have a ‘global faculty’.

So, when I meet Prof Rajiv K Sinha, the dean of the Myra School Business, whose inauguration I have come to attend in Mysore, the first question I ask him is about faculty. “The Myra faculty have a deep commitment to Myra’s vision. We have carefully hand-picked our faculty from around the world and they all hold PhDs and are professors at some of the world’s finest business schools, and have made a name for themselves in terms of research publications, teaching, mentoring and industry consulting experience,” Prof Sinha says. “And they will be physically present at the Myra campus, interacting with the students. They will be present from the introductory lecture, to moderating in-depth classroom discussions, to guiding students through project work, to administering and grading the final exams,” he adds.

“So, what is Myra’s vision?” I ask him. “Our mission is to be an internationally-renowned academic institution that is recognised for excellence, governance and values, and that nurtures socially-responsible leaders. We also aim to create an academic environment that fosters interdisciplinary learning, innovative thinking and interactive leadership,” Prof Sinha says, adding, “And we aim to sustain a platform for cutting-edge, socially-relevant research by bringing together international academics, industry stalwarts and policymakers.”

“Apart from the faculty, will you also bring distinguished speakers to give talks at the campus?” I ask him. “In fact, we have already begun,” Prof Sinha replies, adding, “We will be conducting a workshop on governance and the political economy that will be sponsored by the University of Warwick and the Journal of Public Economics, on December 17-18, 2012.”

“We do need good business schools, since the ones we have cannot quite cater to the number of good students we have,” I add my two-pence worth of knowledge as we move to his office. Prof Sinha gives me his full-rupee worth of knowledge: “There